What has become of the Rovirosa Family?

[Koala]

2 hours ago, snarktastic said:

... how her prayers for vintage plates for teaparties were answered by a gift but still! 

Children starving to death and she's troubling God for vintage plates?  Nice.  

[truthseeker]

Pretty sure Sherry's still alive.  She's in a group photo on Alexandra's FB page (but looking pretty dreadful - maybe she had a breakdown after the split?  Depression?  Pretty understandable if your husband's just buggered off and left you with 12 kids!).  She's also in the bottom corner of a photo on Nicolas's FB page of a bunch of them in a car picking up a Christmas tree.

I couldn't get enough of her blog.  She was bat*** crazy, but seemed harmless. enough.  Obsessed with that 'Somewhere in Time' movie starring Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve.   

[truthseeker]

Sorry everyone.  We're away OS with dodgy internet, and I didn't see page 2 and 3 where you discussed everything I just posted about .... 

Thought I was the only one who had missed her!

[formergothardite]

Sherry was well on her way to becoming the next Lady Lydia. 

[truthseeker]

Is there any way to see any of the old posts?  I don't understand the 'wayback machine' but sometimes people seem to be able to find old deleted posts.  Anyone with any skills?

I particularly remember a post where she talked about God being her heavenly 'Daddy'.  It was only slightly freakier than the time she had lit candles all over a tea party room she'd decorated with hanging lace everywhere!

[truthseeker]

So I answered my own question, and found the old blog on the Wayback Machine.  Here's the link: http://web.archive.org/web/20120720144112/http://bealivingsacrifice.blogspot.com/.  You only get one page, but it's a doozy.  Scroll down past the 'Somewhere in Time' 25th Anniversary post and you'll find the 'Song of Solomon/Give your husband as much sex as you can' post, and then the 'How to make your wife happy' post.  All a bit sad with the knowledge of what has gone on since.

 

Enjoy.

[Nancy Drew]

I found one of the older daughters on instagram, and she's got a picture from maybe two years ago that includes Sherry?  It's a closeup pic, and you can tell Sherry definitely had a lot of facial plastic surgery.  Or at least lots of fillers.  Cheeks, lips, botox forehead.  It's pretty scary.

I always enjoyed reading her blog.  I found her to be kind of a "Jesus Barbie" and I felt bad for her kids having to deal with the matching pajamas at like 17 years old, and the dvd player with censors.  All having their own blogs and then having to read mom's "Give your husband sex ALL THE TIME" posts for the whole world to see...just humiliating.  Which by the way, looks like they still do the matching pajama, gingerbread decorating tradition except that the older boys are wearing regular clothing. 

I really wonder how Sherry is doing, if she had to go find a job after divorcing, what her beliefs are like now, etc.  

[Clementine]

11 hours ago, Nancy Drew said:

I found one of the older daughters on instagram, and she's got a picture from maybe two years ago that includes Sherry?  It's a closeup pic, and you can tell Sherry definitely had a lot of facial plastic surgery.  Or at least lots of fillers.  Cheeks, lips, botox forehead.  It's pretty scary.

 

Found it and she doesn't look like herself anymore. Really sad.

[formergothardite]

She really went overboard with whatever she had done. She really doesn't look like herself anymore. 

[Buzzard]

On 1/17/2016 at 6:18 AM, truthseeker said:

So I answered my own question, and found the old blog on the Wayback Machine.  Here's the link: http://web.archive.org/web/20120720144112/http://bealivingsacrifice.blogspot.com/.  You only get one page, but it's a doozy.  Scroll down past the 'Somewhere in Time' 25th Anniversary post and you'll find the 'Song of Solomon/Give your husband as much sex as you can' post, and then the 'How to make your wife happy' post.  All a bit sad with the knowledge of what has gone on since.

 

Enjoy.

I'm pretty sure, somewhere in the bowels of FJ, a lot of the blog has been cut and pasted here.  

Alexandra's valentines day pics are special... 

[closetcagebaby]

25 minutes ago, Buzzard said:

I'm pretty sure, somewhere in the bowels of FJ, a lot of the blog has been cut and pasted here.  

Alexandra's valentines day pics are special... 

The wayback machine won't load the full blog on my phone. I feel like I'm missing out!

[Sadie6396]

I'm not one who normally gets involved in such discussions, but I accidentally stumbled across this site and wanted to clarify one point in this discussion.  I have known the Rovirosa's for approximately 8 years.  The events that have taken place in their family are unfortunate and hurt so many people.  However, Sherry is not a victim in events leading up to the breakup of her marriage.  The only victims are the children. 

 

[Georgiana]

2 hours ago, Sadie6396 said:

I'm not one who normally gets involved in such discussions, but I accidentally stumbled across this site and wanted to clarify one point in this discussion.  I have known the Rovirosa's for approximately 8 years.  The events that have taken place in their family are unfortunate and hurt so many people.  However, Sherry is not a victim in events leading up to the breakup of her marriage.  The only victims are the children. 

 

Obviously, we really only got one side of the story.  If you feel comfortable, would you mind elaborating?  

[amr89]

I have been reading this forum for several years, and never said anything because I didn't see the need to defend myself and my family. However, in light of recent posts I feel the need to clarify a few things before false stories spread even further than they have.

I'm Alexandra Rovirosa and you all are quite familiar with me and my family as I can tell. As you've all guessed my family and I are no longer fundy, and my parents are divorced. I still live with my mother and have not spoken to my father in almost two years. 

Whoever has said that my mother is not the victim in this situation is grossly misinformed, no doubt by my father. I do not feel the need to indulge everyone in the private details of what was a very painful situation, but suffice to say that my mother tried very hard to hold a very toxic, abusive marriage together for the sake of her children because she believed it was right. My mother is the strongest and kindest woman I know, and she does not deserve the hell that she has been through in the past two years. 

I know all the details and sides of the story, having had an insiders view of the situation that no one else does. I was her confidante for years and I saw what went on behind the facade of the perfect family we had. My siblings can all testify to this, and those of them old enough to choose do not associate with him either. So I can safely say that I have the true story. My father will not own up to his part in the failure of the marriage and continues to attack my mother with gross false accusations. And people believe him. I will not allow that on this forum. 

My mom knows about Free Jinger, and the posts hurt her very badly. I understand that we chose to put ourselves publicly on the Internet  and we have to deal with the consequences of it. I appreciate people who are trying to shed light on serious issues like patriarchy and the abuse that goes on in it. And yes, I know that many of the things fundies do are cringeworthy at best. But I guess I don't understand the need to attack so personally. Pepto bismol pink? Barbie doll? I have a career, go to college, identify as a feminist, and kiss my boyfriend now and I still love lace and pink things. It doesn't make me crazy. It's my personal taste and what I like. I don't understand how attacking people's personalities and likes and dislikes is constructive towards changing this. My personal move out of patriarchy was propelled not by snark filled, hurtful personal attacks, but by people who loved and stayed by my side unconditionally. I promise you, these families read this. The Duggar girls have probably read this. And this fuels their belief that the world outside is a hateful and cruel place, not a place that they should be a part of. I do not support any of these people in any way, shape or form any more, but I cannot stoop to personal attacks when I know what it's like to live that. Someday their worlds will come crashing down, and when they do, they're not going to turn to people who attacked them for help. 

I'm not trying to control what you guys do, and I'm not going to provide any more information about this. We're not on the Internet any more for a reason, and my mother deserves her privacy. But I also don't want false stories spreading about the situation.

[refugee]

Good to hear you're out of patriarchy, Alexandra. It's a long process -- or at least, it's proving that way for our family. You're right about FJ; sometimes you have to pick and choose which voices to listen to. Some of us have lived the nightmare, some here are outsiders, looking in, trying to figure out just what the heck is going on and how in the world could people be so... stupid! (And no, I'm not calling you or your mother or myself stupid -- well, yeah, I feel awfully stupid some days... it's how they see us, though. They can't understand how people (your parents? and my spouse and me) could voluntarily jump into this horrible destructive lifestyle, and why someone born in it can't simply choose to walk away, anytime they want.)

Sometimes I can't understand it, either. I wanted to scream today, talking with someone who is still in the lifestyle though they are 0/3 when it comes to their children reaching adulthood and walking away from god and church and the patriarchal lifestyle. (They are quiverfull, so they have a ways to go before all their children grow up.)

Some of the people here do understand, though. Or at least they try to be understanding, and in turn help me to understand where they're coming from. And you know...? They often make a lot more sense to me than the patriarchal crowd did.

Wishing you well.

[TheGayFundiMENTAList]

Thank you all for the hours of entertainment, this family is ridiculous XD I have some relatives who are homeschooling republican Christians, and well, lets just say thanksgivings are pretty eventful. XD So glad to find a forum of like-minded, sane people. 

[nickelodeon]

Why are so many people joining the forum just to comment about a family that hasn't had an internet presence in several years and isn't fundie anymore?

[meda]

@amr89, I'm sorry that your family has been dealing with upheaval and pain. It does not surprise me at all that in such a rigid patriarchal marriage as your parents, abuse was prevalent. I hope that you, your siblings , and your mother have found some stability and happiness. It sounds from your post that you have and are living your life in a way that you would have been unable to were your family still neck deep in patriarchal fundamentalism.

Which brings me to the other issue you raised....your mother, I'm assuming of her own volition (unless she was forced by your father, which is another matter entirely) had a public blog to "encourage" other women to stay neck deep in patriarchal  fundamentalism. She told women to keep sweet, stay thin, submit, and give sex to their husbands on demand. As a self professed feminist, do you see why some members here, including myself, would see such an ideology and a blog that pushes said ideology as the only correct way to be a woman in a marriage, as something to be ridiculed? Your mother certainly seemed to have a lot of scorn for someone like myself- a working mother in an egalitarian marriage who is neither petite nor blond; so it seems a little hypocritical to complain when some of that scorn was directed at her own choices. 

Frankly, while it sounds that your father is incapable of self reflection, I would hope that as part of your family's journey your mother has thought about the consequences of what she put out on the Internet, and the harm it may have caused other women in similar situations.

[formergothardite]

I think the snark on her decorating came from the fact that she seemed to be idealizing this fake version of the Victorian past to help support her ideas on women. It is rather like what Lady Lydia does. She creates a fake version of the past where everything was pink and fluffy and all women sat around in white dresses having tea parties. Reality is that most women back then worked hard, very very hard and they weren't sitting around being "keepers of the home". 

I hate your mom had to go through a rough divorce, but she needs to own up to the fact that what she wrote on her blog was just as hurtful and more damaging to women than the snark here on her decorating skills.  

[Buzzard]

10 minutes ago, meda said:

@amr89, I'm sorry that your family has been dealing with upheaval and pain. It does not surprise me at all that in such a rigid patriarchal marriage as your parents, abuse was prevalent. I hope that you, your siblings , and your mother have found some stability and happiness. It sounds from your post that you have and are living your life in a way that you would have been unable to were your family still neck deep in patriarchal fundamentalism.

Which brings me to the other issue you raised....your mother, I'm assuming of her own volition (unless she was forced by your father, which is another matter entirely) had a public blog to "encourage" other women to stay neck deep in patriarchal  fundamentalism. She told women to keep sweet, stay thin, submit, and give sex to their husbands on demand. As a self professed feminist, do you see why some members here, including myself, would see such an ideology and a blog that pushes said ideology as the only correct way to be a woman in a marriage, as something to be ridiculed? Your mother certainly seemed to have a lot of scorn for someone like myself- a working mother in an egalitarian marriage who is neither petite nor blond; so it seems a little hypocritical to complain when some of that scorn was directed at her own choices. 

Frankly, while it sounds that your father is incapable of self reflection, I would hope that as part of your family's journey your mother has thought about the consequences of what she put out on the Internet, and the harm it may have caused other women in similar situations.

This.

I'm really glad that you broke free, @amr89 and while some of the things that are written here may come off as hurtful, there is a wealth of knowledge.  Many of the posters here have been in your shoes and reclaimed their lives. I'm delighted to hear that you are doing what you want and living the life that you are entitled to.

Your mother's blog (complete with horrible music) contained some pretty dangerous propaganda.  Whether she was posting it to convince herself that was the life she should lead, or truly trying to convince other women to do the same, doesn't matter.  If she was saying it to strangers then I can only imagine what she was teaching her children.  While you may disagree with our characterization of color choices, the fact remains that the pink, the hair, and the clothes were clearly chosen to convey the message of portraying femininity.  You cant be a good fundie woman unless you are PINK and pretty.

I hope you stick around for a while.  I'm not going to ask you to divulge private matters, but I am very curious how you are faring in the scary heathen world.  What was the choice to go from "waiting for prince charming" to kissing your boyfriend whenever you want like? Have all your siblings made the escape as well?

As to your point about the Duggar girls.  I believe that they do know about us and the many other sites that discuss them.  I dont believe in pulling punches; they're in some crazy shit.  Consider us "tough love" in that the vast majority, if not all of us, wish them freedom.  Much like your mother's posts, their words and their brand are dangerous.  If calling them out on it convinces them that they are right then there is no harm done, they were already convinced of that.  If they read it and it gives them pause, then perhaps we succeed.

Welcome to freejinger.

[PopRox]

@amr89 Welcome. Thank you for coming here and setting the record straight,  but I'm heartbroken to read about all that your family has been through! You did the right thing by cutting your father out of your life. I'mean glad everyone is in a better place now, and I hope your Mom is doing okay and has found healing. I wish you all the best. :-)

[Curious]

@amr89 Welcome to Free Jinger.   I'm sure reading stuff here (and maybe elsewhere) about your family is painful for you.  Thank you for registering and talking to us.   I think you will find that people here are very supportive and willing to listen to you, but as several people have mentioned FJ doesn't really pull punches.

I hope you stick around and get to know people a little bit. 

I am glad that it sounds like the majority of your family has escaped fundamentalism and I hope you kids and your mom are doing well now.

[love2scrap]

@amr89 i am sorry to disagree with you on one thing. Freejinger played a massive role in my journey out of fundamentalism. Like you i was raised in a patriarchal family. It was the one place that collectively showed me everything wrong with my thinking. I will not condone any and everything any member has said here, i owe freejinger as a whole so much for where i am today.

[RosyDaisy]

What about the pain of the women and children who were harmed by the dangerous things posted on your family's blog? You seem to care about yourselves and those that you have hurt. Sorry, but Karma is a bitch.

[QuiverDance]

Alexandra, thank you for sharing.  I hope your mother is healing, and I am happy to hear you are thriving.